If Walsh can do small, he can also go large and he finishes his finely tooled biography by squaring up to that old question of whether Debussy represents the end of one musical epoch or the beginning of another.

Pastoral, then, is an interesting title for a book that so challenges our notions of the same, but these unruly edgelands, one suspects, are as close as many suburban Muscovites get to that elevated ideal. It is essentially, a book about how people use – and abuse – the precious green spaces available to them.

Tarot devotees will find much to appreciate, but so will fans of more famous illustrators, such as Howard Pyle, Arthur Rackham, and Maxfield Parrish. This work will hopefully help raise Smith’s profile as a true treasure of turn-of-the-century art.

Well-researched, eloquent, and entertaining, Flaherty’s book is not only a witty, incisive reflection on a beloved dance and its history. It is also an intimate celebration of dance, life, and the art of taking chances.

The book lacks the grace of a Greil Marcus, but the pages turn quickly enough to engage readers intrigued by the Dead’s mystique. For Deadheads, sure, but also rock fans who may wonder where the road led after Jerry died.

With its semi-Gothic setting and style, it would have been easy for The Shades to descend into cliche, but Citkowitz makes the book all her own. It's an excellent debut novel that deals heavily with death, but still feels alive, compassionate, and full of truths about family that are brutal but necessary.

Always honest, playful, and engaging, the book will provide fans with deep insight into the show’s history but also into its daily production and future. Superfans might even be tempted to go back to the first episode and experience the show all over again.

Even at its most gossipy, the narrative bulges with insight into the musicians whose paths he crossed, from the delicate internal chemistry of Talking Heads and Madonna’s armour-plated ambition to his fruitful encounters with Lou Reed and Brian Wilson late in their careers, before his own career began to wind down in a tangle of boardroom politics.

Ayres is a vivid presence and Gayford gives a fine account of her vast, tumbling, ever metamorphosing Hampstead Mural...The great figures of the 60s are passing – which is all the more reason to be grateful for a book that takes us right into their world.

Hatherley’s theory, which this book not so much tests as pummels furiously for signs of weakness, is that for all its evident problems, belonging to Europe means – or meant – committing to an idea that everyday life can be made better for the vast majority of people with planning, humility and a good measure of collective provision.

...found himself recommitted to his calling as an internet blogger, one who has no dearth of material. Yet he acknowledges that “what is good for cartoonists is not necessarily good for the country.” A solid encapsulation of a significant, occasionally controversial career.